Uefa Europa League
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UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE - 2017/18 SEASON MATCH PRESS KITS Östersund Arena - Ostersund Thursday 15 February 2018 19.00CET (19.00 local time) Östersunds FK Round of 32, First leg Arsenal FC Last updated 04/05/2018 23:22CET Previous meetings 2 Match background 3 Team facts 5 Squad list 7 Fixtures and results 10 Match-by-match lineups 14 Match officials 17 Legend 18 1 Östersunds FK - Arsenal FC Thursday 15 February 2018 - 19.00CET (19.00 local time) Match press kit Östersund Arena, Ostersund Previous meetings Head to Head No UEFA competition matches have been played between these two teams Östersunds FK - Record versus clubs from opponents' country Östersunds FK have not played against a club from their opponents' country Arsenal FC - Record versus clubs from opponents' country UEFA Champions League Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers Andreas Andersson 02/11/1999 GS1 AIK - Arsenal FC 2-3 Solna 41, 68; Overmars 17, 52, Šuker 56 Ljungberg 27, Henry 22/09/1999 GS1 Arsenal FC - AIK 3-1 London 90+1, Šuker 90+3; Nordin 53 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers 0-0 19/03/1980 QF IFK Göteborg - Arsenal FC Gothenburg agg: 1-5 Sunderland 31, 42, 05/03/1980 QF Arsenal FC - IFK Göteborg 5-1 London Price 38, Brady 57, Young 64; Nilsson 30 Home Away Final Total Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L GF GA Östersunds FK 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Arsenal FC 2 2 0 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 3 1 0 11 4 2 Östersunds FK - Arsenal FC Thursday 15 February 2018 - 19.00CET (19.00 local time) Match press kit Östersund Arena, Ostersund Match background There is a touch of footballing romance in the air as European debutants Östersund, led by unsung English coach Graham Potter, entertain the Premier League aristocrats of Arsenal in the first leg of the round of 32. • The Swedish side have already played a dozen matches in their maiden European adventure, qualifying as the runners-up of Group J behind Athletic Club – and only on head-to-head records after both amassed 11 points. Arsenal, meanwhile, cruised through their first UEFA Europa League group stage, clinching top spot in Group H with a game to spare. Previous meetings • The two clubs have never met in European competition, and Östersund have yet to face opposition from England. • Arsenal have posted three wins and a draw in their four encounters with Swedish opponents. In each season that they have faced a team from Sweden, they have gone on to reach a European final – and lose it on penalties after a goalless draw. • The Gunners defeated IFK Göteborg 5-1 on aggregate in the 1979/80 European Cup Winners' Cup quarter-finals en route to losing the final on spot kicks to Valencia in Brussels. Twenty years later they were shoot-out sufferers once again against Galatasaray in Copenhagen in the final of the UEFA Cup, having beaten AIK home (3-1, with Fredrik Ljungberg among the Gunners' scorers) and away (3-2) in the UEFA Champions League first group stage. Form guide • Östersund are undefeated in their six European encounters at home, the five victories in that sequence all featuring clean sheets. Only Athletic have avoided defeat at the Östersund Arena, drawing 2-2 there on matchday three. • Östersund are the first Swedish club to qualify for the knockout phase of the UEFA Europa League. Four others – AIK, Elfsborg, Helsingborg and Malmö – have competed in the group stage but made no further progress. Indeed, the three victories Östersund posted in this season's group stage matched the number managed by those four clubs put together. • Arsenal have prolonged their European campaign into the spring for the 19th successive year – all under Arsène Wenger. • The 1-0 defeat at Köln on matchday five ended Arsenal's four-match winning run away from home in the UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League. They have lost just one of their last 11 matches across the two competitions (W8 D2), with that 2000 final classed as a draw. • First-time Swedish Cup winners in 2016/17, Östersund are enjoying an exceptional debut UEFA campaign, having eliminated Galatasaray, Fola Esch and PAOK during the qualifying phase and booked their passage to the round of 32 with a game to spare. • Arsenal are making their UEFA Europa League debut this season; their last European campaign outside the UEFA Champions League was the 1999/2000 UEFA Cup, which ended with that penalty shoot-out defeat in the final against Galatasaray. They defeated French club Nantes in that season's third round, or last 32, winning 3-0 at home and drawing 3-3 away. UEFA Europa League squad changes • Östersund In: Dino Islamovic, Noah Sonko Sundberg, Tesfaldet Tekie Out: Fouad Bachirou, Tim Björkström, Gabriel Somi • Arsenal In: Santi Cazorla, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Henrikh Mkhitaryan Out: Chuba Akpom, Krystian Bielik, Francis Coquelin, Mathieu Debuchy, Olivier Giroud, Marcus McGuane, Tafari Moore, Julio Pleguezuelo, Jeff Reine-Adélaïde, Alexis Sánchez, Ben Sheaf, Theo Walcott Links and trivia • Östersund coach Potter played for Birmingham, Wycombe, Stoke, Southampton, West Brom, Northampton, Reading, York, Boston, Shrewsbury and Macclesfield; he was also capped once by England Under-21s. • Four Östersund players – Douglas Bergqvist, Jamie Hopcutt, Samuel Mensah and Curtis Edwards – have made senior appearances at various levels of English football. • Östersund concluded their 2017 Swedish Allsvenskan campaign on 5 November. They finished fifth – the highest final placing in the club's history – 14 points behind champions Malmö. The 2018 Allsvenskan season starts on 1 April. • Arsenal's Laurent Koscielny played in both of France's matches against Sweden in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, winning 2-1 at home and losing 2-1 away. 3 Östersunds FK - Arsenal FC Thursday 15 February 2018 - 19.00CET (19.00 local time) Match press kit Östersund Arena, Ostersund • Suspended for next match if booked: Curtis Edwards, Ronald Mukiibi (Östersund). The coaches • Englishman Graham Potter has steered Östersund from the Swedish fourth tier to the UEFA Europa League knockout phase – picking up the club's first ever major trophy, the Swedish Cup, en route – since taking the reins in 2011. He played for a number of clubs at various levels of England's Football League – chiefly as a full-back – as well as eight games in the 1996/97 Premier League for Southampton. • Arsène Wenger has been the Arsenal manager since 1996, leading the Gunners to three English titles, a record seven FA Cup wins and the 2006 UEFA Champions League final. A player of modest repute, he made his name as a coach with Nancy and Monaco in his native France before moving to Japan for a brief spell with Nagoya Grampus 8. He is the longest serving manager in the Premier League. 4 Östersunds FK - Arsenal FC Thursday 15 February 2018 - 19.00CET (19.00 local time) Match press kit Östersund Arena, Ostersund Team facts Östersunds FK Formed: 1996 Nickname: ÖFK UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets) • None Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets) Swedish Cup: 1 (2017) Ten-year European record (UEFA Europa League/UEFA Cup unless indicated otherwise) 2016/17: did not take part in UEFA competition 2015/16: did not take part in UEFA competition 2014/15: did not take part in UEFA competition 2013/14: did not take part in UEFA competition 2012/13: did not take part in UEFA competition 2011/12: did not take part in UEFA competition 2010/11: did not take part in UEFA competition 2009/10: did not take part in UEFA competition 2008/09: did not take part in UEFA competition 2007/08: did not take part in UEFA competition Records UEFA club competition • Biggest home win 2-0 three times, most recently v Zorya Luhansk 23/11/17, UEFA Europa League group stage • Biggest away win 0-2: Zorya v Östersund 14/09/17, UEFA Europa League group stage • Heaviest home defeat N/A • Heaviest away defeat 3-1: PAOK v Östersund 17/08/17, UEFA Europa League play-off first leg UEFA Europa League/UEFA Cup • Biggest home win 2-0 three times, most recently v Zorya Luhansk (see above) • Biggest away win 0-2: Zorya v Östersund (see above) • Heaviest home defeat N/A • Heaviest away defeat 3-1: PAOK v Östersund (see above) Arsenal FC Formed: 1886 Nickname: The Gunners UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets) • UEFA Champions League: (2006) • UEFA Cup: (2000) • UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (1): (1980), 1994, (1995) • UEFA Super Cup: (1994) Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets) League title: 13 (2004) FA Cup: 13 (2017) League Cup: 2 (1993) 5 Östersunds FK - Arsenal FC Thursday 15 February 2018 - 19.00CET (19.00 local time) Match press kit Östersund Arena, Ostersund Ten-year European record (UEFA Europa League/UEFA Cup unless indicated otherwise) 2016/17: UEFA Champions League round of 16 2015/16: UEFA Champions League round of 16 2014/15: UEFA Champions League round of 16 2013/14: UEFA Champions League round of 16 2012/13: UEFA Champions League round of 16 2011/12: UEFA Champions League round of 16 2010/11: UEFA Champions League round of 16 2009/10: UEFA Champions League quarter-finals 2008/09: UEFA Champions League semi-finals 2007/08: UEFA Champions League quarter-finals Records UEFA club competition • Biggest home win 7-0: Arsenal v Slavia Praha 23/10/07, UEFA Champions League group stage • Biggest away win 0-7: Standard Liège v Arsenal 03/11/93, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup second round second leg • Heaviest home defeat 1-5: Arsenal v Bayern München 07/03/17, UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg • Heaviest away defeat 5-1: Bayern München v Arsenal 15/02/17, UEFA Champions